The Way I See the World

Art Therapy

Noun Challenge: July 19, 2014

Today’s noun: Paint

Today I want to talk to you all about another type of creative outlet. Painting. I know that if you’re reading this, you probably have a blog to run, and you may be thinking ‘I suck at art’. But that’s okay. Just read.

Last year, a friend of a friend had to do a six week art therapy class. So I, and a few other people decided to take the class to help her. The focus of the group was to relieve stress and anxiety since it was right around finals time.

My only thought going into this was that I was a terrible artist. I’m one of those people who can’t even really draw a stick figure. But I went to the group every week anyway. I debated whether going to the group actually relieved any anxiety, or just created more. After a few weeks, I was leaving the group feeling much more relaxed than when I went in, so I decided to continue.

Anyway, what I’m saying is that I’m no artist, but I felt more relaxed after making art. I stuck mostly to using markers and crayons, just drawing whatever I felt for the activity of that meeting. Other people chose to use paint or charcoal. Some people actually said that using paint relaxed them more than markers.

Next time you’re feeling overly stressed, try drawing a picture, even if you’re as stick figure challenged as I am. There’s no harm in giving it a try!